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Nigerian defender Danny Shittu at the weekend made a great start to his Millwall career as he bagged the Man of the Match award in the Lions’ 2-0 win over Derby County.

The former Bolton Wanderers and Watford player, who only signed a three-month contract last Friday with the English Championship side, had a fantastic debut at the New Den even making an impact as early as 26 seconds into the encounter when he was on hand to make a vital headed clearance.

He was substituted in the 77th minute to a standing ovation from the home fans as the Lions recorded their first home win since the end of August.

At the end of the game Shittu was handed the supporters’ man-of-the-match award and the Nigerian has expressed gratitude to the club’s fans for the honour.

“I’m not going to lie, I was surprised but very honoured,” he said of the fans’ reaction to his debut in a report carried by the Southwark News. “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been playing, when you come to a new place you’re still a bit nervous.

“The manager (Kenny Jackett), who I’ve known for a long time, has taken to me straight away but for the fans to treat me like that… they might not understand how big a deal that is. I really appreciated that and I thank them for it.”

Cramp-induced substitution

Shittu produced a number of crucial blocks and crunching tackles before succumbing to cramp in the 77th minute – something he says was down to a lack of recent match practice.

“I’d only trained for two days, and for the last few months I’ve spent Saturdays taking the kids to the park,” explained Shittu, who made his Super Eagles debut in 2002.

“I’ve been doing my own thing but there’s nothing like match fitness – you can do as much running on the treadmill as you like.

“I knew that tiredness would affect me, but all I wanted to do was keep going today. I’m glad that the reason I came off was just because of cramp and not an injury.”

The 30-year-old has since gone on to make close to 30 appearances for Nigeria with the last of them coming in the Super Eagles’ 2-0 victory over Madagascar in a 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier decided in Calabar.

“The last game I played was about four or five weeks ago, for Nigeria against Madagascar,” he said, referring to the September 5 match in Calabar.

“I’ve been playing for Nigeria for six or seven years now, so every time there was an international break I’ve been getting packed away somewhere so I haven’t had time off like this for years.

“It was good for me to spend some time with my family – I’ve got four kids and I’ve really got to know them over these past few months. It’s a big thing and it probably delayed me getting back into football.”